DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ALBERT B. FALL. SECRETARY NATIONAL PARK SERVICE STEPHEN T. MATHER. DIRECTOR FEATURES OF THE FLORA OF MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK FLOWER FIELDS IN INDIAN HENRYS HUNTING GROUND Washington : : Government Printing Office : : I 922 OTHER PUBLICATIONS OF MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK SOLD BY THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS. Remittances for these publications should be by money order, payable to the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C, or in cash. Checks and postage stamps can not be accepted. Forests of Mount Rainier National Park, by G. F. Allen. 1922. 32 pages, including 27 illustrations. 20 cents. Contains descriptions of the forest cover and the principal species. Mount Rainier and Its Glaciers, by F. E. Mattlies. 1922. 48 pages, including 20 illustrations. 15 cents. Contains a general account of the glaciers of Mount Rainier and of the development of the valleys and basins surrounding the peak. Panoramic View of Mount Rainier National Park, 20 by 19 inches, scale 1 mile to the inch. 25 cents. ADDITIONAL COPIES OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY HE PROCURED FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON, D. C. AT 25 CENTS PER COPY FEATURES OF THE FLORA OF MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK. By J. B. FLETT. GENERAL STATEMENT. In a general treatment of the flora of Mount Rainier National Park we must bear in mind the fact that the mountain is located near the center of the park and that the park extends down into the dense forest, thus giving a varied and extensive flora. For convenience the park may be divided into five zones: 1. The lower area near the boundary, between elevations of 2,000 and 2,800 feet, is composed of wide river valleys covered with large trees around which are woven masses of moss, liverworts, lichens, and ferns. Those plants also form a beautiful cover for the forest floor. 2. The upper forest region between elevations of 2,800 and 4,000 feet is characterized by trees covered with gray hanging forms of lichens, smaller trees, and a gradual transition to alpine types. 3. Between 4,000 and 5,500 feet trees are found in groups distinctly alpine alternating with grassy meadows. 4. From 5,500 feet to timber line. 5. Rocky ridges and pumice fields above timber line. THE FIRST ZONE. The first of these zones begins at about an altitude of 2,000 feet, which is the altitude of the river valleys. These valleys, which radi­ ate from the mountain, are of glacial origin. They are broad at their lower ends, but as they approach the mountain they become more narrow and their sides are more precipitous. Aside from their shape the tiling that strikes the careful observer is the splendid forest of large trees and the odd forms of plant life which form the beautiful forest cover. These two conditions are nowhere seen to better advantage. The principal tree m these valleys near the park boundary is the Douglas fir, a well known tree, as it is the most common and the most valuable tree in the Puget Sound region.1 The stranger may 1 The forest trees are described in a publication entitled " Forests of Mount Rainier National Park," which may be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Wash­ ington, D. C, for 20 cents. 103906°-22 1 1 2 FLORA OF MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK. recognize it by its thick bark, cleft into long perpendicular furrows on the largo trees, and by the leaves surrounding the branches, from which hang numerous cones with projecting bracts. The next tree in value is the white cedar, Thuja, vlicata. This is easily recognized by its arbor-vitae like foliage, its thin fibrous bark and spreading base. It is the only cedar or cedarlike tree in that forest until the upper limit where the Alaska cedar begins to come in. The lowland western hemlock is perhaps second in abundance. It may be recog­ nized by its small cones and short foliage silvery white on the lower side of the branches and by its drooping plumelike top, while all the firs have erect tops. There are throe true firs scattered through this forest, namely, the lovely, Abies amabilis, the silver, Abies grandis, and the noble, Abies nobilis. The lovely fir is sometimes called larch by the lumbermen, thus confusing it with a tree which does not grow on the western slope of the Cascades. The lovely fir has scaly bark somewhat like the spruce and a dome shaped top. The foliage is not white underneath; the tree has largo purple cones without ex- sertcd bracts, which grow only on the top of the tree. The silver fir grows rather sparingly throughout this zone. It can be recog­ nized by its leaves, which are of three different lengths and twisted so that they lie nearly in the same plane on opposite sides of the branch, thus giving it a flat appearance. The branches are generally sdvery white underneath, hence the popular name. The bark is often white, hence sometimes called white fir. It has small green cones without exsertcd bracts. This tree flourishes best among alder and cottonwood where there is an abundance of moisture and extends from sea level to about 4,000 feet. The lumber is classed with hem­ lock by the lumbermen. The noble fir is not abundant in this zone. The deciduous trees of this zone are the broad-leafed maple, the vine maple, the alder, and cottonwood. The broad-leafed maples are noted for their dense foliage. In the dense forest of tall conifers they often take on an enormous growth of moss, liverworts, lichens, and ferns, which gives them a superficial resemblance to a tropical epiphytic forest, while the vine maples, small and tough, bend over to the ground, forming many fantastical curves and tangles almost impenetrable to the experienced woodsman. These tangles are often made up of several other troublesome shrubs, such as the devil's club, Ecliinofomax Twrridum, with its irritating spines, broad palmate leaves, and red berries. The cascara, an alderlike small tree, is noted for the medicinal qualities of its bark, which is collected in some localities and shipped in carloads to the eastern market. The wil­ lows, spiraeas, huckleberries, and the dainty little pachistima are all more or less abundant in this dense forest area. The herbaceous plants of this region are perhaps the most interest­ ing, because of the many odd forms. The strangest of these belong FLORA OF MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK. 3 to a group of plants which live on decayed matter. They have lost all green coloring matter which is necessary for self-support and live on the products of other plants. The best known of these strange denizens of the forest is the Indian pipe or ghost plant Monotropa uni- flora (fig. 1). The former common name is applied to it because of its FIG. 1.—Indian pipe or ghost plant (Monotropa uniflora). Color of flower, white; height of plant, 5 to 12 inches; blooms July and August. Photograph by Asahel Curtis. fancied resemblance to the ordinary clay pipe, the latter because of its pearly whiteness. This plant has a wide range, extending all over the United States wherever the proper conditions are found. Nowhere is it more at home than in the woods of Washington and Oregon. There is another plant of the same genus which has several flowers on the same stem; this is popularly called the many-flowered Indian 4 FLORA OF MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK. pipe, while the plant having only one flower is called the one-flowered Indian pipe. The one-flowered species grows in dense clusters, while the other has not this tendency. The Allotropa, or barber's pole (fig. 2), is a beautiful red and white striped plant confined to the forest of the Pacific coast. It is, per­ haps, the oddest of this strange group, because of its bright colors. The pine sap, Pterospora andromedea (fig. 2), may be recognized by its reddish-brown stem, 3 or 4 feet high, without leaves, and by the numerous globular flowers arranged along the upper part of the stem. This plant, like the Indian pipe, has a wide range, extending across the continent. Locally it extends from about 1,000 feet above sea level to about 3,800 feet. The rarest of this leafless group is PLemitomes congestum (fig. 2). It is so rare that it has no common name. Like the one-flowered Indian pipe, it grows in dense clusters. The writer saw one bunch collected below the park entrance that filled an ordinary milk pan. Not oidy7 do these plants grow in dense masses but the flowers on each plant are also massed together, as the specific name indicates. In its prime it is a beautiful rose-pink or sometimes nearly7 white, but with age it turns black like nearly all of the Indian pipe family. It extends from near sea level to an altitude of about 3,200 feet. On the southeast slope of Mount Angeles, near an old deserted cabin, the writer found the five species shown on figure 2. The plants were collected and placed hurriedly on an old table and photographed with the side of the log cabin for a background. Closely related to this leafless group is the Pyrola or wintergreen family, which is well represented and seems to be a connecting link between the Indian pipe family and that of the heath or heather family. In the old textbooks all three families are included in the heath family.